Andor Körmöczi

Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is a tool of choice for studying ultrafast processes and atomic physics. Most experiments employing sources of XUV radiation, such as high harmonic generation (HHG) or x-ray lasers, benefit from knowing the number of photons delivered to target in every single shot, because of the possible shot-to-shot pulse fluctuation of the sources. Nonetheless, many setups lack noninvasive XUV pulse energy diagnostics, hindering the simultaneous measurement of pulse energy and utilization of the XUV beam for applications. We present an online XUV pulse energy monitoring method based on the detection of photoelectric charge from thin metallic foil filters transmitting the XUV beam, which can be easily implemented at every pulsed XUV source that includes a high-pass filter system in the form of metallic filters. Consequently, implementation of our method is as straightforward as connecting the filter to an oscilloscope. In the paper, we describe all the physics aspects of such measurement and show the dependence of measured photoelectric charge on the incident pulse energy. To prove the versatility of our approach, we performed this measurement on two different high-flux HHG beamlines, taking consecutive shots at 1 kHz.

The electric vehicle (EV) industry challenges battery joining technologies by requiring higher energy density both by mass and volume. Improving the energy density via new battery chemistry would be the holy grail but is seriously hindered and progresses slowly. In the meantime, alternative ways, such as implementing more efficient cell packaging by minimising the electrical resistance of joints, are of primary focus. In this paper, we discuss the challenges associated with the electrical characterisation of laser-soldered joints in general, and the minimisation of their resistive losses, in particular. In order to assess the impact of joint resistance on the overall resistance of the sample, the alteration in resistance was monitored as a function of voltage probe distance and modelled by finite element simulation. The experimental measurements showed two different regimes: one far from the joint area and another in its vicinity and within the joint cross-section. The presented results confirm the importance of the thickness of the filler material, the effective and total soldered area, and the area and position of the voids within the total soldered area in determining the electrical resistance of joints.

The electric vehicle (EV) industry challenges battery joining technologies by requiring higher energy density both by mass and volume. Improving the energy density via new battery chemistry would be the holy grail but is seriously hindered and progresses slowly. In the meantime, alternative ways, such as implementing more efficient cell packaging by minimizing the electrical resistance of joints are of primary focus. In this paper we discuss the challenges associated with the electrical characterisation of laser soldered joints in general, and the minimization of their resistive losses, in particular. In order to assess the impact of the joint resistance on the overall resistance of the sample, the alteration in resistance was monitored as a function of voltage probe distance and modelled by finite element simulation. The experimental measurements showed two different regimes: one far from of the joint area and another in its vicinity and within the joints cross section. The presented results confirm the importance of the thickness of the filler material, the effective and the total soldered area, and the area and the position of the voids within the total soldered area in determining the electrical resistance of joints.

The growing prominence of the electric vehicle industry, fueled by environmental concerns, has demanded innovation in various aspects of battery technologies with special emphasis on increasing the efficiency of both electric storage and its retrieval. An unexplored area of this is to identify the possibilities and limits of laser soldering. Here, we reveal the effects of surface pretreatment conditions and the amount of filler, along with the laser power and irradiation time on the characteristics of laser-soldered joints, by simultaneously evaluating the electrical and mechanical behavior of laser-soldered nickel-plated steel sheets (Hilumin®). By describing the morphological characteristics of the resolidified solder and the electrical and mechanical properties of the joints, we identify three, characteristically different morphological appearances and highlight the optimal one, where uniform and mostly void-free solder can be produced. Furthermore, we report a correlation between the threshold of upper sheet melting (either expressed as laser power or irradiation time) and joint deterioration in terms of the electrical and mechanical properties of the joint. We conclude that laser soldering can create joints with outstanding electrical conductance and adequate mechanical stability that meets the critical specifications of battery joining technologies when the surface pretreatment condition and processing parameters are properly optimized.

With the proliferation of electric drivetrains, the development and optimization of joining techniques for the fabrication of battery packs became a prime manufacturing topic. Decreasing the electrical resistance and increasing the mechanical strength of the welds at the individual cell level are of great importance not only for productivity and efficiency but also for safety and sustainability purposes. Lasers offer an advanced, highly automatable solution for battery cell joining. Usually, the optimization focuses on the laser parameters or the scanning speed. However, the most widespread battery welding geometry, the so-called lap geometry, allows alternative possibilities for joint property optimization. The novelty of our approach is that we focus on systematic experimental investigation of the effects of dimensional parameters and the layout of the weld pattern. Systematic experiments reveal that the shape and size of the weld area have substantial effect on the properties of the laser welded joint. Our results prove that a rather substantial gain can be achieved in both the electrical and mechanical properties when the weld consists of at least two parallel bead segments. We also show that it is beneficial by both means if the segments have the greatest individual length and placed apart at the maximum feasible distance. The orientation of the straight segments affects the mechanical and electrical behavior differently: strongest welds consist of weld segments oriented in parallel, while the smallest resistance can be achieved using segments oriented perpendicular to the direction of current flow, respectively.

Nowadays, lasers are routine tools in the widest range of materials processing, including welding of battery packs. The properties of the laser generated weld bead are crucial in determining the electrical and mechanical behavior of the joint. Here, we report on the identification of five morphological bead types, namely, Rosenthal, single wave, elongated, pre-humping, and humping morphologies and their systematic appearance over the laser power versus scanning speed plane. We prove that each type exhibits characteristic electrical and mechanical behavior that differ not only in the magnitude of relevant materials’ properties, but also in their variability. We show for nickel-coated steel and uncoated DC01 cold rolled steel that the so-called single wave morphology is best suited for battery welding applications, since this morphology class concomitantly exhibits the lowest electrical resistance and the highest mechanical strength, both with a relatively small margin of error. The results suggest that the bead morphology could be exploited as a simple indicator of joint properties.

Following an overview of conventional bonding techniques used for the assembly of battery packs of modern hybrid vehicles special attention will be paid to laser keyhole welding. The unique challenges of aviatic applications, especially joining large number of batteries in a highly reproducible manner are pinpointed. The effect of contact area on the electrical and mechanical properties of laser welded joints is investigated on a DC01 steel model structure. The results are also discussed in terms of laser scanning speed. In the optimal process parameter range joints exhibiting electrical and mechanical properties appealing for assembling hybrid aircraft battery packs can be produced with high reproducibility.